The U.S. Forest Service — facing opposition from state and local governments as well as environmental groups — withdrew 67,000 acres from a Colorado oil- and gas-lease sale set for Thursday.

The state Division of Wildlife and San Miguel and La Plata counties all filed formal protest letters over the potential sale.

Criticism focused on the fact the parcels were chosen based on a 1993 plan with dated science on how drilling might affect land and wildlife.

The land is in the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison national forests and is home to Canada lynx, the Gunnison sage grouse and Colorado cutthroat trout.

Some parcels also were in the watershed-protection area that supplies drinking water for the town of Norwood, southwest of Montrose.

Norwood officials and the San Miguel commissioners also protested those parcels.

“I was particularly concerned two counties and the state Division of Wildlife raised these issues,” said Rick Cables, the regional forester for the Rocky Mountain region.

“We want to take the time to evaluate all the information,” Cables said.

After the review, a decision would be made on what parcels could be offered for sale and what limitations or protections would have to be added to the leases.

“We hope this is the beginning of a new era of more informed resource development on public lands,” said Hilary White, director of the Telluride-based Sheep Mountain Alliance — one of the groups opposing the sale.

Both the counties and the state Division of Wildlife applauded the decision.

“It is very gratifying that we could work with the Forest Service,” said San Miguel County Commissioner Joan May. “This gives us time, and that is a victory,” she said.

Randy Hampton, a state wildlife division spokesman, said: “This gives everyone a chance to examine the parcel areas to see if additional stipulations might be needed to protect sensitive wildlife habitat.”

Among the areas of concern were 16 parcels identified by the wildlife division as nesting sites of sage grouse or grouse-production areas. Trout Unlimited also protested the sale of 60,000 acres of prime cutthroat-trout habitat.

The Forest Service had to rely on its 1993 forest-management plan, which the agency is still trying to update, to select parcels.

“We want to include the most recent information, the best science,” Cables said.

There is no timetable for completing the review. “We are just going to do it right,” Cables said.

Removing the 57 national-forest parcels — covering 66,692 acres — in the southwest part of the state leaves 12,200 acres in 28 scattered parcels for auction Thursday, according to the federal Bureau of Land Management.

“While this is a victory, the parcels still may be put up for auction, so there is still work to be done,” said Debbie Lewis, an attorney with Western Resource Advocates — another protesting group.

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